As Ophelia targets East Coast, some people still shrug it off

Many have a nonchalant attitude about the approaching storm. Some looked on the approaching storm as a mere nuisance.
NAGS HEAD, N.C. (AP) -- Even with Hurricane Katrina fresh in their minds, residents of this Outer Banks town -- weatherbeaten natives and newcomers alike -- were determined Tuesday to ride out Hurricane Ophelia.
Brenda and Rich Hooser, who moved to Nags Head from Winston-Salem three weeks ago, strolled hand-in-hand through the surf Tuesday, nonchalant about the approaching storm.
Brenda Hooser said Ophelia, a Category One hurricane, doesn't compare to Katrina, the Category Four storm that devastated part of the Gulf Coast.
"It's not near as bad," she said. "We live above sea level."
Rich Hooser said the couple was following the lead of longtime residents.
"All the locals -- none of them leave," he said. "If it's not over 125 [mph], they don't go anywhere."
Hatteras Island
On Hatteras Island, where an evacuation was ordered, Barry Peele of Buxton said he has never evacuated for a storm in 30-plus years living on the island -- and probably never will.
"This ain't nothing," he said earlier Tuesday, when Ophelia was at tropical storm status. "It blows like that from the northeast all winter long."
Just north of Buxton, several vacationers in Avon were surprised by the evacuation order after Tuesday dawned sunny and muggy and the winds, blustery for the past three days, stilled to a light breeze.
"Beautiful day for an evacuation, isn't it?" said Doug Dalenay of Pittsburgh.
Slow business
Back at Nags Head, business was slow at Cahoon's Market, as it has been all week, said employee Charlene Heroux, 46.
No one has stocked up on water or batteries -- they've stuck to wine and beer, she said.
Lisa Merrill of Nipomo, Calif., was buried up to her neck in sand, her children forming the shape of a mermaid around her. For her, the approaching storm was more a source of annoyance than anxiety.
"I just want it to be done with," she said, as her 11-year-old daughter Abby placed seashells in a mop of seaweed surrounding her head.
Merrill's husband, Craig, said the family had not yet decided whether to cut short their vacation, which they planned for the past year.
The couple's 4-year-old son, Tanner, had his own frustration.
"It brings too much wind for kites," he said with a frown as he stood on a boogie board staring at the rolling surf.
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